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It’s almost a sure bet that when running pipe and wire in an old house, you’re bound to hit embedded nails when boring the holes. That’s where these bits come in. They’re thicker than the typical spade bit to resist bending, and they have a bevel on their cutting surfaces suitable for both wood and metal.

The only sure way to make consistent and clean holes in glass and ceramic tile is with a carbide bit designed for those materials. These simple and inexpensive little bits work great. The carbide tip is diamond ground to a sharp point that enables a fast and sure start, putting the hole right where you need it, instead of the bit skating off and leaving a nasty mark. The three flats ground onto the bit’s shank prevent it from slipping.

Use: Concrete, brick, mortar, concrete block | Type: Hammer-rated carbide-tip twist drill | Number of bits: 7 | Size range: 3⁄16 to ½ inch

Suppose your drill doesn’t have a hammer function or you lack a dedicated masonry drill, what do you do then? Well, if your masonry hole drilling is confined to brick, concrete block, or mortar, you can use these inexpensive carbide-tip rotary drill bits for masonry. They won’t stand up to use in a hammer drill, but they work perfectly well, if slower, in a standard drill or cordless drill driver. Bonus: Their double-flute design allows better clearing of dust and chips compared to a single-twist type. This way you can use the drill’s high-speed setting to get through the job faster. Note that there are multiples of the smaller diameters, such as the 3⁄16-inch size, which are more frequently used with masonry screws.

Okay, by now you might be saying to yourself, “All I want is a basic set of bits for wood and metal. Got any of those?” Yes. For less than $20 you get a high-quality hex shank bit with a highly wear-resistant titanium nitride coating. And if you up your game some day to include working with an impact driver, these bits will work with it.

If your drill driver has a hammer setting, chuck in one of these bits and make a clean and fast hole in concrete, brick, concrete block, or mortar. You don’t need an extensive set of masonry bits; a basic carbide-tip kit like this one is a great choice. Its German-made quality should provide years of use, and its slim, vinyl wallet enables it to slip into a crevice in your tool box. Carry this and you’re prepared for tough, masonry drilling jobs without having to make a quick run to a hardware store or home center.

How To Select a SetThere’s no sense in getting bogged down in complexities of hole making–the fine points belong to industrial users. For the rest of us, all we really need to know are the basics. That’s why we separate out bits for making holes in wood, metal, masonry (concrete or stone), and tile/glass. Some of the drill bits do a pretty good job making holes in more than one material. Other than selecting a bit based on the material you’re drilling, keep in mind the quality of the hole you’re making. That sounds odd. A hole is a hole, right? Wrong, There’s a big difference between a perfectly round and smooth-walled hole for furniture making than a rough-and-ready hole made in framing lumber to fit a pipe or cable. So think about the material, the hole itself, and how you want to make it. Choose your set accordingly.

It’s often said that you don’t need a drill bit; what you need is a hole. How you make that hole is up to you, but it’s a given that you want to make it as efficiently as possible. The drill bit, therefore, is built to match the diameter and length of the hole you want to make—as well as the material in which it works. And chances are good that you need more than one bit, you probably need at least a small set to make holes of various diameters.

Use: Wood and steel | Type: Extra-long twist drill | Number of bits: 5 | Size range: ¼ to ½ inchSuppose you need more reach when making a hole, such as when you’re working on an old house or restoring an old car. Or in a modern house, you need a super-long pilot hole for that massive screw you’ll use to hang a ceiling fan. Enter these 18-inch bits. Built from high-speed steel and with geometry to eject metal chips, they work on wood, too (though you will have to back them out repeatedly as you go deeper to eject the wood chips).

Use: Thin-gauge steel, aluminum | Type: Impact-rated step drill | Number of bits: 3 | Size range: ⅛ to ⅞ inchThey call these step drills because of their shape. Each step increases the hole diameter. You just stop drilling when you reach the appropriate hole diameter at the step that produces it. Although these bits are designed for sheet metal, they will drill a clean fast hole in heavier-gauge materials like electrical boxes and even mild steel channel, and shapes like L, U, and T.

These twist drill bits are built to withstand punishment. They’re machined out of high-speed steel and finished with a wear-resistant coating. Yet their tips can be resharpened. All that is good. What’s even better is that they’re made in America and yet are priced reasonably, especially when you account for the cost of the nice sheet steel bit index that they come in. We tried them, liked them, and thought enough of them to award them our coveted annual Tool Award.

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If you’re getting interested in woodworking, this inexpensive brad point bit set is an easy choice. The sharp tip on these bits make it easy to start the bit exactly where you need it, and their geometry—somewhere between a twist drill and an auger bit—makes for good chip ejection.

Spade bits are made for quick-and-rough holes in construction lumber. They don’t leave a particularly clean exit hole, but in most cases that doesn’t matter. Of all the spade bits we’ve tried through the years, we keep coming back to Irwin Speedbor. They’re inexpensive, tough, and can be sharpened with a file. One set will last for years, maybe decades, depending on your use.

If you’re gearing up for your first big wiring or pipe job, or if you’re a seasoned pro looking for faster and cleaner hole-making ability, then self-feed bits are the way to go. The lead screw pulls the bit through the lumber while an interior plane shaves the wood as the bit turns. The result is a fast hole and a clean one. For the sake of longevity, the plane blade is sharpenable and the kit includes two removable, replaceable feed screws, because you’re bound to hit fasteners and chew through knots.

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Big HolesIf you need to make large-diameter holes—something between ¾ inch and 4 inches, let’s say. You don’t want a drill bit, you want a hole saw. Even though these aren’t drill bits, we’ve included a set of these at the bottom of this review. It’s reasonably priced and can serve both homeowners and professional users.

Use: Concrete block, mortar, brick | Type: Rotary (non hammer) carbide-tip twist drill | Number of bits: 14 | Size range: ⅛ to ½ inch

Use: Wood | Type: Forstener | Number of bits: 8 | Size range: ¼ to 1⅜ inchesWhen you need a perfectly round hole in wood with a smoothly machined sidewall, then you want a Forstener bit. These are best used in a drill press, but the smaller-diameter bits can be used in a hand drill.

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An HSS-G pilot drill bit for holesaws with cutting capacity less than 46mm. The drill has a ¼in. hex shank, 135° point angle and split point. Total length 80mm.

These hole saws are known as bimetal types because they're made from two types of steel. The body is made from spring steel and formed into a cup. Around the front edge of that cup is brazed a circular row of cutting teeth made from a narrow band of high-speed steel. The result is a light weight and durable accessory tough enough to make big holes in wood  or metal. Suppose you need to make a door knob hole in a wood door; turn to these. Use them again to make holes in steel, for a tool rack, say.